on the broadcast tonight, back to school. students and teachers from sandy hook elementary make an emotional return to class today for the first time since that tragic school shooting. making history, and it's only day one. what lies ahead for the new congress. and tom brokaw with one new senator who is already making a name for himself. memory problems in menopause. tonight, important health news for women who wonder if it's their imagination. and never too late. how a growing number of older americans are finding love these days, and why some big names are getting into the dating game. "nightly news" begins now. from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news" with brian

williams. >> good evening, i'm lester holt in tonight for brian. in newtown, connecticut, this was a day filled with trepidation and deep emotions as the pupils and staff of sandy hook elementary returned to class for the first time since the mass murder there. tomorrow will mark three weeks since the rampage that left 20 children and 6 adults dead. the building where it happened remains off limits tonight, still an active crime scene. and so for the time being, sandy hook has a new home. it also has a community of supporters and well-wishers that now extends across the country. all anxious to help the young survivors feel safe, loved and protected. nbc's rehema ellis is in monroe, connecticut tonight. >> reporter: good evening, lester. reporters and camera crews were asked to give the school some space today so that teachers, parents and police could get the students back to a normal routine. there was some anxiety as

newtown school buses rode through the community, but their new route was lined with signs of support, as they made their way to the newly renamed sandy hook elementary school. students were bussed to a reoutfitted former middle school in a neighboring town seven miles away from their old school. the windows were decorated with snowflakes, some made by other students around the country. security was heavy. >> we don't want them to think this is a police state. we want them to know that this is a school, and a school first. and that it's a place they are to come to learn, enjoy their friends and grow up. >> reporter: the kids also found lots of things that were familiar. all their old desks, chairs, backpacks and jackets. >> watching them get off the bus, most of the kids were excited. they had seen friends they hadn't seen in a while. they were anxious to get into the hallways and meet up with the other kids. and you could see the teachers had the same response. >> reporter: an emotional time, too, for parents like andrew paley, the father of 9-year-old twin boys, he spent the morning with them at school.

>> when i was saying goodbye to them, you could kind of tell they knew i had to leave, but they didn't want me to, necessarily. >> reporter: the family has been nearly inseparable for the three weeks since the tragic shooting. paley says without school and the boys' routine, it's been hard, especially at night. >> they used to be able to sleep without the light on. and now they need that light on, at least for now. >> reporter: but today the kids got what they've been asking for. a return to school. they also got to see some furry friends. seven therapy dogs from chicago that had comforted the community early on spent time at the school today. >> they pet them and hug them and kiss them and all of that kind of stuff. and the dogs just love that. >> reporter: the families were also reminded that there's a whole community embracing them. >> i think we still have a long way to go, and it's a road i'm not sure any of us know how to walk. but we will. we'll walk it. and we're strong. >> reporter: today the governor of connecticut announced the

state's gun control measures, mental health programs and school safety procedures are all under review. lester? >> rehema ellis in connecticut tonight, thank you. another first day on capitol hill for members of the new congress, the 113th. they come in with a lot of unfinished business left by the 112th, and who knows if they'll get more done than their predecessors. but this group is already making history. nbc's kelly o'donnell is on capitol hill to fill us in on that tonight. kelly? >> reporter: good evening, lester. the congress the country voted for in november is now on the job. some new faces, but really no new issues. with a showdown over the federal debt already brewing. but on this day, and especially with their families here, they were more focused on fixing the nation's problems than fighting about them. >> majority of the votes cast. is duly elected speaker of the house representatives for the 113th congress. [ cheers and applause ] >> reporter: despite this ovation, john boehner's path to a second term as speaker of the house has been rocky. but there was no challenge. only a handful of conservatives

voted against him. democratic leader, nancy pelosi, carried out the custom. >> i present the people's gavel to the speaker of the house, john boehner. may god bless you! [ applause ] >> reporter: and an emotional boehner tried to hold back tears. >> we're sent here not to be something, but to do something. >> reporter: at a time when approval for congress is at record lows, voters narrowed the balance of party power slightly. house republicans now hold 233 seats to democrats' 200. taking the oath today, the most diverse congress in history. more african-americans, latinos and women than ever. 81 in the house and a record 20 women in the senate, including massachusetts' elizabeth warren. and wisconsin's tammy baldwin, the first openly gay senator. twelve new senators, and huge applause for south carolina's tim scott.

the only african-american in the senate today. and the first black republican from the south in more than 100 years. a moment worthy of the look on his mother's face. outside the capitol, an emotional achievement for senator mark kirk's slow and careful steps on his first day back after intense physical rehabilitation. the 53-year-old illinois republican suffered a massive stroke one year ago. >> i've been dreaming about this day for months. >> reporter: a different kind of return to congress for the kennedy family. bobby and ethel's grandson, joe kennedy iii, was sworn in. this was day for many families to celebrate. but not everything went as planned. and vice president biden. >> there he is. >> reporter: riding high after closing the fiscal cliff deal with congress, seemed to enjoy every minute today administering the oaths of office. and the high stakes, high profile work begins for the

house tomorrow where they'll be voting on emergency relief for sandy victims, billions of dollars worth. and then over the next few weeks, both sides of congress will begin to work on things like raising the country's borrowing limit, the debt ceiling, and dealing with spending cuts that could include negotiations over programs like medicare. lester? >> all right, kelly, thanks. one new member of congress, the junior senator from the state of maine, is already making a name for himself. tom brokaw is here tonight with more on a man who says he wants to do the people's business in a better way than we've seen lately. hi, tom. >> lester, we don't often think of maine and royalty in the same sentence. but tonight i am reporting on the king of maine. that would be angus king, near republican or democrat, officially independent. a former two-term governor, he promised a new approach. and it paid off. >> i do. >> my favorite line from the campaign is a guy up north who said "all my life i've wanted a chance to vote for none of the

above and you're it." >> it's been difficult to envision this day when i would be saying farewell -- >> reporter: king is replacing olympia snow, a respected republican senator who quit in frustration over washington's deadlocked ways. >> she said, i can't make it work. my thinking was, well, we have to try something different. and my second thought was, oh, my lord, that's me. >> reporter: as governor angus king became very popular because he could bridge the divide between republicans and democrats in this state. and he hopes to take those same skills to washington, d.c. it's not easy, leaving the good life in brunswick. but as a young man, king worked on capitol hill, and he remembers the difference. >> i actually saw with my own eyes senators in different parties arguing, agreeing, disagreeing, compromising, finding consensus, and moving forth with legislation. >> i'm going to figure it out -- >> reporter: king and his wife mary ann intend to spend time in washington, getting to know the other senators. >> the pattern is, the senate meets three days a week,

tuesday, wednesday, thursday, everybody goes home. and so the relationships don't develop. >> reporter: when he left the governor's office, king took his family on a year-long trip around america. and what he learned is that from coast to coast, the country has common concerns. red state and blue state. >> we got the feeling that everybody is dealing with those problems, and that we ought to be able to find some common solutions. >> reporter: one of king's political heroes is joshua chamberlain, four-term governor of maine, and a hero for the north at gettysburg. >> chamberlain, i think is the greatest citizen maine ever produced. >> reporter: chamberlain's accomplishments remind him about what others have done against far greater odds. but he has no illusions about what he's up against now. >> i'm not arrogant enough that mitch mcconnell is going to say here's how we're going to do this, but if i can nudge it a bit toward some rules that make sense, i think that will be an accomplishment in itself. >> lester, senator king will be a member of the rules committee,

which fits perfectly with his big goal of changing the senate filibuster rules, which are now very easy for a minority to hold the majority hostage. some changes are under way, but not yet enough for the independently minded king, and we will be hearing more from him. >> tom, thank you. there is news tonight about what happens next for secretary of state hillary clinton who was released last night from a new york hospital after being treated from a blood clot. nbc's chief foreign affairs correspondent, andrea mitchell, has been following the story. she joins us with the latest from washington. >> reporter: good evening, lester. hillary clinton is raring to go, already working from home, coming to the office next week. the secretary of state left the new york hospital yesterday, hand-in-hand with her daughter, chelsea, and a beaming bill clinton. she is supposed to be resting at home, but she was on the phone with her staff today who called in a scheduled meeting of the foreign affairs policy board. people on that panel, which was discussing second-term foreign policy priorities, and hearing a

briefing on syria from u.s. ambassador to syria, robert ford, told me later that clinton sounded vigorous and healthy. clinton's designated successor, senator john kerry, was in the capitol today, accompanying elizabeth warren. but he is starting his transition. he was working at the state department yesterday and is expected there again tomorrow. hillary clinton, while back at the department next week, will not be flying again as secretary, but from all reports, her recovery is going exceedingly well. lester? >> andrea, thank you. the family of an american journalist kidnapped in syria went public today with an appeal for his release. james foley, a freelancer, was who has covered a number of conflicts in recent years, was captured on thanksgiving day in northern syria, where he was working for the news organization, "global post." today in rochester, new hampshire, his father spoke about his 39-year-old son. >> we miss him terribly. he's in our thoughts and in our prayers every day.

and we're committed to do everything within our ability to secure his safe release. and this is our only priority. >> nbc news did not initially report news of foley's kidnapping at the request of "global post" until his family made it public. to the american economy now, and news that american car dealers have had a great year. sales for the big three, gm, chrysler and ford, all up in 2012. there were strong sales for imports, as well. but on wall street today, the market snapped their two-day winning streak. the dow and nasdaq and the s&p 500 all ended the day lower. i'm joined now by cnbc's sue herrera. sue, the dust has settled from the fiscal cliff crisis, the economy sending some promising signals. but there is still a lot of americans out of work. what do we expect when december's job numbers come out tomorrow? >> reporter: well, there's some decisions on wall street that are being made right now in terms of the trading day

tomorrow. because that report tomorrow morning is expected to show pretty much what we saw in november, about 151,000 new jobs created. but remember, last month there was a lot of controversy over the jobs report because of revisions. we're going to get that same kind of data skew in tomorrow's report. and that's one of the reasons why people sold wall street today. nobody wants to be aggressively long stocks ahead of that report tomorrow morning. there's still a lot of nervousness, lester, in the market. >> sue herrera at cnbc headquarters, thanks. one other news item about big money. former vice president al gore is a much richer man tonight, about $100 million richer after selling his little-watched cable channel, current tv, to the arab news channel, al jazeera, which is looking for a way into more american homes. but just hours after word of the sale, time warner, the nation's second largest cable company, said it was pulling the plug on current tv. still ahead, as "nbc nightly news" continues, women's health news. there's a real science behind that foggy brain feeling many

women experience during menopause. but does it ever end? and later, the dating game. where a growing number of older singles are finding love later in life.

we're back with health news. tonight it's about menopause and new research that may help explain a symptom many women experience during menopause. it's memory loss. and our chief medical editor, dr. nancy snyderman, is here to tell us more about it.

>> there probably isn't a woman who has gone through menopause who hasn't talked about the fogginess of the brain and could there be something else behind it. now a new study in the "journal of menopause," which studied 117 women in the early stages of post menopause, which means they have gone a year without having a menstrual period, and thought there was good evidence that this is for real. things like attention, verbal learning, things you need to know on the job. verbal memory. a laundry list. even fine motor skills. those are real issues for women who are postmenopausal. it does not mean you're at risk or alzheimer's or other dementia, but for the first time we're putting extra science behind this. >> is this something women have to acknowledge and live with? or can they do something about it? >> we have made a big disease of menopause. i'm a big believer you don't smoke, diet, exercise is important. i'm not a big believer of hormones, people know that. there is no correlation between this and the hot flashes and the insomnia a lot of women complain. if you do go on hormones, make sure it's a short-lived problem. and as we know, many women who are postmenopausal can grow up to be secretaries of state and

head of the imf. there is a future after this. it really is not an illness, just a transition. you get your brain back. >> thank you very much. there is a wake-up call from the centers for disease control. an alarming number of drivers are falling asleep at the wheel. a cdc survey found that 1 in 24 drivers said they had nodded off while driving recently. men more likely to report drowsy driving than women. and the problem gets worse with age. the recommended solution, well, it's simple, but apparently not easy for many people. at least seven hours of sleep a night. when we come back, what people who live together bicker about more than anything else. don't touch that dial. ♪

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1989 film with kevin costner? that field has now been sold. an investor group that includes hall-of-famer wade boggs bought the property in dirsville, iowa for $3.4 million. it plans to preserve the field and farmhouse made famous in the film, and says it will build a baseball training and tournament complex on the 193-acre property. 65,000 people visit that site each year. on a remote beach in northern washington state they're trying to figure out how to remove a large dock that washed ashore, likely from thousands of miles away. officials have found japanese writing on the dock and say it's probably a piece of debris from the tsunami that struck japan almost two years ago. the first priority is to report any invasive species that might have attached themselves to the dock. here in new york, it was like new year's eve all over again in times square today. sort of. the famous new year's eve ball with its crystal panels and 32,000 lights was relit and hoisted 130 feet back up to 1 times square where it will now

be on display all year long. and when 1,100 people were recently asked about living with someone and what drove them most crazy about it, here were the top complaints. 7% said sharing a bed. 13% said having to share a bathroom. 16% cited doing household chores. but the most common complaint, more than one-third, bickering about what to watch on tv. so if you won the battle over the remote to watch us tonight, thanks. when we come back, those of a certain age looking for love, now there is help from an unlikely source.

we're told that from now until valentine's day is the busiest time of year for dating websites. it's a huge business, of course, and it's about to get even more competitive with a new and unexpected player trying to create special senior moments that will lead to much more. we get the story tonight from nbc's chris jansing. >> reporter: photographer dina mandy gives the good life in california. great job, great friends. but she doesn't have it all. >> i never expected to be 50 and single. >> reporter: two years ago, her seven-year marriage ended. so she is looking for love

online. >> you have to keep moving on. so i'm trying to embrace it and have fun. >> reporter: in that sense, she is not alone. >> there's an exciting place for singles over 50 meet. >> reporter: senior dating websites, ourtime.com, seniorsmeet and seniorpeoplemeet.com have a combined 4 million members. and now aarp, the long-time washington power player, is lobbying for love. partnering with dating website howaboutwe.com. 50-somethings on up make online connections. then they're encouraged to move offline quickly. >> you just post a date idea and hopefully somebody else reads that and thinks i want to do that too. >> reporter: it's the first romantic venture for aarp. but a quarter of the group's 37 million members are single, and more than half of those singles are under 70. hundreds have recorded testimonials about their perfect match. >> a human connection with someone. >> feel comfortable, at ease.

>> you know immediately when you have chemistry. >> reporter: aarp has also hired nancy kelton to write a column as a kind of cyber cheerleader for senior singles who dread dating. >> i think you have to have an incredible sense of humor about it. >> because you have to kiss a lot of frogs. >> oh, and iguanas and toads. i mean, every single reptile in the kingdom. >> reporter: kelton landed her prince online two years ago. while dina and millions of others are hoping they will too, to share the next stage of their lives. >> that part of your life where the kids are grown, you're ready to enjoy each other. when you do find someone that you want to date, that's kind of magic. >> reporter: because you're really never too old to feel young again. chris jansing, nbc news, new york. >> that's our broadcast for this thursday night. thank you for being with us. i'm lester holt in tonight for brian. we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night.

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